An 18th time – a little more than two tenths ahead of the other rookie and team-mate Luca Marini – does not worry Enea Bastianini too much. At the end of the first day of testing, he was confident, although he was aware that there was still a lot to be done.
How was it today? Are you getting used to the new bike?
“It’s a great track for MotoGP with lots of quick points and the power of the bike is really good, buthe result wasn’t the best and tomorrow we have to work to improve.”
In which aspects do you see a need for improvement?
“I need to improve, especially in the fast corners. I’m having trouble losing grip on the rear wheel and the weight of the bike still needs to be worked on to find a better balance, but it shouldn’t be difficult to correct these things for tomorrow’s qualifying. “
Even if the result was not really satisfactory, you have probably worked on other aspects. Have you been able to familiarize yourself with the route, which is very different from Losail and Portimao?
“Yes, in a way you could say it’s an easier track, but I’m still a lot behind the leaders. As mentioned before, besides the problem of adhesion on the back, I still have it I can’t ride the bike as well as I would like But I still enjoyed it and I’ll try to do better tomorrow. “
Have you tried analyzing other drivers’ data to better understand their strengths or highlight the things that need improvement?
“Yes, of couse. I compared my data with that of the other drivers. Besides being unable to get the speed I want in the corners, I can’t get to the curb or lift the bike at the right time. Overall, however, I was pretty even, so I’m not too worried. “
Zarco said he suffers in slow corners and is instead strong in fast corners. Is it the other way around for you?
“Yes. I suffer in the fast corners, especially the last two. I saw that Bagnaia is the Ducati rider who was the fastest on this section of the track and I tried to get inspiration from him, but unfortunately we’re in different garages and it’s not easy, so we’ll also be working on the bike setup. “
Luca Marini said that in his opinion, to be quick in MotoGP, you have to brake hard. What do you think? Do you agree with him?
“I disagree. I braked well today and still drove fairly slowly. In my opinion, we have to make good use of the fast corners, especially today when it was windy and the bike was difficult to push.”
What tires will you use in this race?
“Tomorrow we will definitely try the hard rear tire, which might have been the best option for me at Portimao because I felt comfortable on the final laps. We’ll certainly use the switch in qualifying, but that’s a different matter in the race. “